13 And one out of the multitude said unto him, Teacher, bid my
brother divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said unto him,
Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? 15 And he said
unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness:
for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 and
he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I
have not where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I
do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I
bestow all my grain and my goods, 19 And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine
ease, eat, drink, be merry 20 But God said unto him, Thou foolish
one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which
thou hast prepared, whose shall they be? 21 So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
The parable of the Rich Fool was related by our Lord to teach that riches
neither form the real content nor assure the continuance of life, so that
it is the sheerest folly to seek for gold while forgetting God.
A man had come to Jesus with the request, “Teacher, bid my brother divide
the inheritance with me.” The reply implied that the Master regarded his
work as spiritual, and that he was not willing to invade the sphere of
civil law or to usurp the place of regularly appointed authorities, “Man,
who made me a judge or a divider over you?”
Possibly this reply contains a message for the modern day and warns us
against confusing the functions of the Church with those of the State. The
sphere of the Church is spiritual, and its province is not to determine
questions which are commercial and political. The Church, however, does
provide and inculcate principles which are involved in all moral questions
and which determine justice and right in every sphere of human life. Thus
Jesus refused to “divide the inheritance,” but he pierced to the root of
the request and saw that the man was neglecting the civil law and seeking
the support of a religious teacher because he was moved by avarice; and it
is this same “love of money” which lies at the root of most of the
injustice and inequity and cruelty which burden the world to-day.
Therefore Jesus turned to the multitude with the warning: “Take heed, and
keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” To enforce his message
Jesus told the story of the rich man who was heaping up goods for selfish
enjoyment in future years, and who was suddenly confronted by the
necessity which death brings of leaving to others all that he had amassed.
His foolishness consisted in forgetting that fortune and life itself are
dependent upon the will of God, and that a man really owns nothing but
owes everything to God, and that the real value of life consists in the
unselfish use of wealth and of opportunity according to the will of God.
How his vain words, “my fruits,” “my barns,” “my grains,” “my goods,” “my
soul,” are contrasted with the solemn message: “This night is thy soul
required of thee.”
“So is he,” continued Jesus, “that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God.” It is the sheerest folly to forget that riches
neither form the real content nor assure the continuance of life; it is
madness to heap up goods while neglecting God.